Honesty the best policy

By MARK STORY


Executive recruiter David Doyle is staggered at the number of execs who are effectively "fired" only to surface in good jobs elsewhere. So how do they do it?

You parted company with your last employer under dodgy circumstances and are unclear whether this will affect your employability.

Whether this blemish on your work track-record will scare off employers depends on how high up the career ladder you were. At least that's the view of Doyle, director with executive recruiter Chamberlain Doyle, who thinks seniority typically determines how fireable offences are dealt with.

Owing to the idiosyncrasies of our employment, human rights and privacy laws, those unfortunate enough to be fired are usually given a pretty soft landing.

In other words, says Doyle, the more senior the executive, the fewer the people likely to know the circumstances behind their untimely departure. More often than not, he says what's tantamount to a sacking will be dressed up as redundancy or as something less sinister on their resume.

Doyle says the alarm bells that a company would raise (in the market) by admitting it had to fire an employee - let alone an executive higher up the food-chain - is something few are prepared to do. He says with the labour market being so tight even those who have been fired are rehired quickly - albeit with less prestigious companies.

"I'm staggered at the number of people who effectively get fired, only to turn up in good jobs elsewhere," says Doyle.

By painting a veneer of respectability (over a sacking) he says an employer can preserve their reputation - while giving the fallen executive ample opportunity to find another job without the smear of having being fired. But, from Doyle's observations, the same ritual isn't always performed when there are grounds to fire more junior staff.

"Employers are typically harsher on their younger staff when fireable incidents occur. For example, a 25-year-old will often get hung out to dry following commonly experienced indiscretions like inappropriate internet usage, facing a client with a hangover or similar indiscretions," says Doyle.

So if you're a good performing employee who's been dismissed because of uncharacteristic carelessness, how should you explain it at your next job interview?

Even though your former employer may not state that you were fired, rumours travel fast, especially within certain industries.

What can fuel those rumours, claims Stuart Chrisp, director with Kinross Recruitment, are candidates who claim to have been laid off (after restructuring) yet provide neither references nor recommendations.

So instead of trying to gloss over indiscretions or leaving gaps - that will only raise added scrutiny - in your resume, Chrisp believes being upfront and honest is the best approach.

He says lying is never advised and can only make you look foolish, especially if your past employer has threatened legal or punitive action against you.

Owing to the New Zealand penchant for the big OE, having gaps in your resume look normal, but he says they must be explained.

"If you don't tell the truth about being fired, you'll always be prone to dismissal once your new employer finds out," says Chrisp.

The first thing to do, advises Chrisp, is to ask former colleagues (from your past employer) to act as referees on your behalf.

"If I was a candidate in that situation I'd line up these referees well in advance of any job interview," says Chrisp. "If your work situation was untenable you need to get someone else within that office environment to corroborate the details."

In addition to proving that you can get along with peers, Chrisp says you also want former colleagues to testify that - apart from your singular lapse of judgment - you're record on the job was good.

"You need to back up these testimonies with all the former references, performance reviews or letters of recommendation you can muster," recommends Chrisp.

Assuming the company interviewing you is satisfied you've learned your lesson, he suspects a former faux pas is forgivable in many cases.

But what if you're a senior exec who's been fired because of philosophical differences with the CEO over how the company should be run?

Far from being something to be ashamed of, Chrisp says one mismatch isn't going to throw your career down the Swannee.

He cites bad chemistry between a CFO and his MD as a classic example. Having lost his trust in the CFO because of a misunderstanding over unaccounted petty cash, the MD threatened to "performance manage" him out of the company if he didn't resign.

Rather than refer prospective employers to this former boss, the CFO asked a partner from the accounting firm - that had audited the firm's books for many years - to act as his referee.

"As well as vouching for the professionalism with which the CFO managed the company's finances, this referee also framed his relationship with the former boss in a perspective relative to the culture of that organisation," says Chrisp.

If handled properly, Doyle claims your decision to resign on a point of principle might embellish your next job interview.

What can make or break your job interview, adds Doyle is how information is presented. For example, he says being fired over dishonesty needs to be handled differently than being shown the door because of philosophical differences or poor job performance.

Proving you felt strongly enough over a point of principle - as did Greg Muir, former boss of The Warehouse - to lose your job over, might signal integrity a prospective employer, Doyle argues.

He says executives who choose to take a philosophical stance or go out on a limb - for example by paying out a bonus they shouldn't have - aren't so much risking their career as they are the job for which they're probably ill-suited.

For example, while Muir might have risked only his job at The Warehouse, he says former Singapore-based rogue trader Nick Leeson risked his career when he caused the collapse of Barings Bank.

"As a recruiter I will hire and rehire people who have tried hard yet not succeeded," says Doyle. "One of my best placements was a former CFO who'd been dismissed for failing as a general manager due to inexperience. What experience he did gain added to his credentials for his next CFO role."

The golden rule, concludes Chrisp, is if you've committed a major career indiscretion, don't try to hide it. He says the local market is too small for people who have seriously blotted their copybooks to keep it a secret for long. Serious issues tend to follow people but instead of stewing over it, Chrisp says people should get advice from either a career adviser or someone they trust.

"A fresh start, new location, career change or retraining could be in order. Remember what looks like a big issue now will seem like a speed-bump further down the road."


10 tips to explaining why you were fired


* Understand your legal rights before doing anything.

* Always be upfront and honest.

* Have former colleagues act as referees.

* Prove that you've learned from your mistakes.

* Never lie or try to hide obvious indiscretions.

* Present all former references, reviews and recommendations.

* Find out what your former boss will say about you.

* Don't be afraid to stand by a point of principle.

* Don't over-react, everyone makes mistakes. Just try not to repeat them.

* Seek advice from friends or a career adviser.